Order of Merit of The Police Forces - Eligibility and Appointment

Eligibility and Appointment

To qualify for induction into the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, individuals must be, at the time of appointment, an active member of any of Canada's police services, including criminal investigators, patrol officers, administrators, trainers, and researchers. Either civilians or the advisory committee of the local branch of the Association of Chiefs of Police will forward names to the national advisory committee, which then makes its recommendation to the Advisory Committee for the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. This latter group consists of the President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, who acts as chairperson, one of the Deputy Commissioners of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the President of the Canadian Police Association, one head of a provincial police force, three chiefs of municipal or regional police forces, the Deputy Secretary of the Chancellery of Honours, and two additional persons appointed by the governor general for between three to five years; the Secretary to the Governor General serves as the Secretary General of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

Approximately 50 individuals are admitted to the order each year; the total is limited to 0.1% of the total number of employees of police services in Canada in the preceding year. No more than six percent of those appointed to the order in total may be inducted as Commanders and no more than 30% may be made Officers. Inductions are also not made posthumously, though members of foreign armed forces can be admitted as honorary members in any grade.